If his conditions of health permit it, the Pope could visit Ireland in 2005. After the invitation made to him by the Irish episcopate (cf. SIR no.56 of 23 July) and (according to Archbishop Seàn Brady of Armagh, Primate of all Ireland) accepted “in principle”, the Irish government has now given its approval of such a visit. Visiting Rome to celebrate the 75th anniversary of relations between Ireland and the Holy See, Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Aherne met the Pope. According to some sources, reported by the APIC agency, on that occasion the minister declared that his Government would be delighted to receive such a visit”. It would be the Pope’s second to Ireland after that of 19 September 25 years ago, when Northern Ireland was in the midst of a civil war. For the time being it remains difficult to establish a precise date and programme for the visit. The same sources, cited by APIC, added that one stage of the visit could be Armagh, in Ulster, the diocese of Archbishop Brady, Primate of all Ireland, and ecclesiastical capital of the island since time immemorial. But in this case a request to the British government would be needed.
